YouTuber inoCat (real name Yoon Su Jin), who has 6.55 million subscribers, has been caught up in her own controversy following her globally-known racism experience.
Previously, on June 12th, inoCat had publicized that she was the victim of racial discrimination by a Mexican man in the stands during the group stage match between Mexico and Czech Republic at the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup.
At that time, the man made a “slant eyes” gesture to demean East Asians, causing controversy. FIFA officially invited inoCat to the second group stage match between Korea and Mexico, where Acting Secretary-General Mattias Grafström personally apologized.
However, just a month later, inoCat got caught up in her own controversy relating to the World Cup. The controversy stemmed from the video she released titled “How to Use Messi’s Uniform.”
The video shows an Argentina uniform with Lionel Messi’s name printed on it being used as a foot mat on the floor or to wipe a glass window like a rag. This content, which imitated a foreign creator’s video, was heavily criticized mainly by Argentine netizens after its release, with many accusing it of mocking Messi and Argentina.
On July 22nd, inoCat posted a message on her account starting with, “I sincerely apologize to everyone who felt uncomfortable because of the recent video I uploaded.” She explained, “I thought this video was just a meme content, but after reading many viewers’ opinions, I realized that it was a much more sensitive topic than I had thought.”
She clarified, “I sincerely apologize for uploading the video without fully understanding. Messi is my favorite soccer player,” but ultimately deleted the video and posted an apology. In the apology, she also wrote, “The video was not made with the intention to humiliate or hate anyone. However, I caused discomfort, and I think I should have been more careful about that. I will be more thorough in considering expressions and cultural backgrounds when creating content from now on.” She ended by saying, “I sincerely apologize to everyone who felt uncomfortable.”